"A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench" (Isaiah 42:3).
You would think that the bruises the Saviour endured on earth would have crushed the spirit right out of Him. But God helped Him. “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold” (v.1), He said. Jehovah will not allow His bruised reeds to be broken or smoking flax to be quenched (see v.3). “He will not fail nor be discouraged” (v.4).
There is no question about it. On the cross our Saviour was bruised and battered beyond measure, and His light was almost extinguished by the deluge of our sin, but He was never broken beyond mending. What a tender Word this is!
The reed or calamus plant has a hollow stem and grows by the sides of lakes and rivers. It was used for making music or fashioned into pens for writing. It is weak, fragile, and brittle. It is easily snapped by the foot of a wild beast, by the wind, or even by a bird that lights upon it. Once it is broken it is of no use whatsoever. Other stems can be mended, but not the reed.
Jesus was bruised but never broken. Jehovah looked at His precious, bruised One and said, “I must mend this reed. It was meant for music!” He saw His Son as smoking flax upon the cross. He placed His hands around His flickering life and gently blew the flame of the Resurrection light alive again.
Are you bruised? Do you feel like a flickering wick, about to go out? Listen to the promise of Jehovah: “Bruised but never broken”! Dare to believe it!
